A judge turned down a request Thursday from a political action committee for an injunction against the state that could have given a big financial lift to Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota.

Federal Judge Paul Crotty rejected the injunction request by New York Progress and Protection PAC, which is backing Lhota’s campaign and last month filed a lawsuit against the state Board of Elections seeking to strike down the $150,000 campaign-contribution limit.

The lawsuit had claimed the PAC has “multiple” donors prepared to give more than $150,000 each to help promote Lhota’s candidacy, raising the possibility of a spending gusher.

“Overall, an issuance of an injunction would disrupt rules that have been relied upon in this election cycle, cause confusion among political committees, and possibly elevate NYPPP’s voice above others,” the judge wrote. “Accordingly, this court finds that a preliminary injunction would seriously undermine the public’s interest in a fair and predictable election process.”

Crotty also criticized the PAC for waiting until Sept. 25 — just 41 days before the Nov. 5 mayoral election — to file the complaint. The PAC had claimed it waited because it didn’t expect Lhota to win the primary, but the judge called that “a made-up explanation.”

“NYPPP’s artificial urgency is simply an attempt to avoid the rigorous scrutiny of the New York statutory scheme for campaign finance, which must occur before any relief is granted,” Crotty said.

Mike Carvin, a lawyer for the PAC, said it planned to file an “emergency appeal” immediately with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, “in an effort to end a regime that all federal courts have deemed unconstitutional and which the district court did not suggest was constitutional.”

Lhota said that he wasn’t part of the lawsuit, that he doesn’t know those involved in the lawsuit, and that he wasn’t sure the group would have actually helped him.

“It’s presumptuous to think they would be helpful; it’s presumptuous to think they would be harmful,” he said. “They wanted to express their First Amendment right, God bless them.”